Thursday, June 05, 2014

During the 2014 Draft's 2nd Round the Dodger chose Alex Verdugo, 62nd overall, out of Sahuaro High School in Tucson, AZ. I had originally thought he was going to join the franchise as a left-handed pitcher, but according to Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Insider the Dodgers picked him up as an outfielder. So Mr. Verdugo, you get 2 cards (since I already made the first before doing any real research). Check them out above.

Verdugo is 6' 1" and about 200 lbs. He bats left-handed is thought to have power potential. Verdugo is also an able pitcher and is thought by some to be a potential middle of the rotation guy. He had committed to go to ASU, but apparantly that is now off. Chris Cotillo at MLB Daily Dish remarked on twitter that he and the Dodgers had made an agreement to sign prior to the draft on twitter.

Then, Ocotillo says that the Dodgers did not specify to him what position they want him at. So, it remains to be seen if he'll be an outfielder or pitcher. Nevertheless, the Dodgers announced him as an outfielder, so I'll assume that's the direction he's headed.

While Verdugo was announced as an OF when the #Dodgers picked him, I'm told the team did not specify to him if they see him as OF or P.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) June 6, 2014

He is arguably the best two-way
player available in this draft along with Michael Gettys. I'm not sure
at this point where he should play. Similar to Trey Ball last year, he
has high-end tools both on the mound and in the outfield.

His speed is just average, so I
don't see him sticking in centerfield long term. His thick legs look
more like the legs of a pitcher than an up the middle talent. Once he
matures he'll likely be a right fielder so the bat has to be very good,
but the bat is that good. He can hit the ball with authority from line
to line. He has a strong build but doesn't have a lot of physical
projection remaining.

He has a toe tap and a big
stride to trigger his aggressive swing. He tones it down in game
situations but doesn't lose the aggressive swing. He has great hand eye
coordination and can hit the ball hard to all parts of the field and he
seems to have a good idea of what to do at all times. He has a fast bat
that is short to the ball and long through it allowing him to have good
contact ability and project for power as well.

Verdugo might have more upside in the outfield, though, with solid tools
across the board. The arm is obviously plus, and he pairs that with
good outfield defense and above-average speed. During batting practice,
he rocketed balls into the gaps and sold out for a little more pull-side
power. He was dipping his back shoulder and trying to lift, but he did
hit a couple balls off the wall and one that cleared, no easy feat with
the wind blowing in hard. In game action, Verdugo showed off natural
hitting ability with several balls hit hard in the gaps, including a
triple.

With the Dodgers playing a crappy version of Baseball, tonight's 2014 MLB Amateur Baseball draft couldn't come at a better time. After all, I would much rather spend my free time dreaming about the future, than fretting over how bad we are today.

Fortunately, there are several names already in the Dodger farm system that keeps me excited and engaged. We've got slugger Joc Pederson causing some damage in Albuquerque, Corey Seager is tearing it up in Single-A, and Julio Urias makes me hopeful than another ace will arrive soon.

I wonder who, if any of the future Dodgers drafted over the next few days will find themselves on the above list. All I know is that it'll be fun to watch and learn about their development over the next coming months and years.

With all of that being said, the 1st Round Draft pick for the Dodgers, 22nd overall, of 2014 is South Carolina right-handed pitcher Grant Holmes from Conway High School. In celebration of Holmes' being chosen by the Dodgers in the 1st round of the draft, I made the below fantasy card
for him. I used a
photo grabbed from Grand Strand Sports (photo by Chuck Silvey)
in his high school uniform and the 1987 Topps Baseball card
design.

Grant is 6' 2" and about 200 lbs. Reports indicate that he throws a mid-90's fastball and has a good breaking ball. He has already verbally committed to play college ball at the University of Florida, but we'll see if he can be convinced into turning pro right away. BTW, he is on twitter, and you can find him here - @GHolmes_14. Jim Callis at MLB.com recently wrote that he was the 3rd best prep arm in the country:

Holmes established himself as a likely first-rounder with a series of
strong performances on the showcase circuit last summer, and he has
been better than ever this spring. He made scouts sit up and notice when
he fired a 100-mph fastball during a preseason scrimmage, and he
continued to deliver outstanding velocity throughout his senior season.
Holmes repeatedly worked at 91-97 mph, also impressing with his improved
ability to locate his fastball on both sides of the plate.

Holmes can devastate hitters with his curveball as well. At its best,
it grades as well above average, a low-80s power breaker with good
depth. He didn't need it much against high school competition, but the
Florida recruit also has made significant strides with his changeup,
which can run to either side and shows flashes of becoming a plus pitch.

"The only knock on Holmes is his height, but he's strong, so he does
it easy," an area scout said. "We've seen 97-98 mph in the seventh
inning. I've seen three plus pitches and the ability to maintain his
velocity. I like him a lot. He really competes and he has feel for
pitching."

Holmes has an excellent power
curveball as well. It's arguably his best pitch and it is a big league
average pitch now with the potential to be a plus-plus pitch. It has
tight spin and good depth at 82-85 MPH. The velocity will make many say
it's a slider but there is very little horizontal movement to it. It's
just a hard downer curveball and he delivers it with exceptional skill.

He even offers a solid change
that could be above average. Holmes has a lot of polish and has
everything he needs to make it a plus pitch as well. It sits in the mid
80's as well and it comes out of the same angle and similar arm speed as
his fastball, allowing it to be projected as above average or even
better.

The Los Angeles Dodgers today selected Conway High School (SC) right-handed pitcher Grant Holmes with their first pick (22nd overall) in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder struck out 82 batters in only 40.0 innings
this season, while posting a 4-1 record with a 0.35 ERA on his way to
Gatorade's South Carolina Player of the Year honors at Conway High
School (SC). At the plate this season, the 18-year-old batted .305 with a
.494 on-base percentage.

"We feel fortunate to have gotten a player of Grant's magnitude at
pick 22," said Dodger Vice President, Amateur Scouting Logan White.
"He's a mature, young and strong-bodied pitcher who throws hard and has a
great breaking ball, but what separates him is he is a fierce
competitor."

Holmes, whose brother, Colby, signed as a non-drafted free agent with Atlanta last June, was rated as the 16th-best prospect by Baseball America.

The Dodgers have selected a pitcher with their top pick in the draft
11 of the last 12 years, and their next selection in the second round is
the 62nd overall.

With the 2014 MLB draft starting tonight it's only fitting that Topps would release their Pro Debut minor league Baseball card set this week. The set features some of the best up-'n-coming prospects the Dodgers have in their system. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if half of the players featured end up on the Major League roster in a few years.

BTW, there's a surprise omission from this set for the Dodgers. Joc Pederson is nowhere to be found. What's up with that?

Below are the Dodger prospect base cards. I hope to have the insert cards available to show soon.

“I always go out to do my best and to enjoy myself on the field,” Puig
said in Spanish. “I don’t do the things I do to bother anyone. If they
have been bothered, I apologize again. I’m just trying to enjoy myself
and give my best to the fans, who are spending their leisure time coming
out to see us.”

"Tommy [Lasorda] says it all the time -- it seems corny at times, but we
all have to get on one end of the rope and pull," Mattingly said
Wednesday. "Anytime you've heard Tommy say that, it's absolutely true."

But Mattingly did get in one more zinger, a profane one, when he was asked about the Dodgers' 13-19 record at Dodger Stadium.

"Well, home, away, whatever, I don’t know that that’s got anything to do with it," Mattingly said. "It’s just being basically s----. We’re just not that good."

I am increasingly concerned by this. In one sense, we clearly have the talent, but in another sense Mattingly is right. Maybe, we just aren't that good and it's time to make some moves to the roster, or maybe it's an issue of motivational leadership at the top. Maybe,we need to make the kind of change that tells the players to get their rear end in gear. Maybe, we get rid of some players and change the coach. It just seems more clear to me that a culture change is needed, and it might be best to cut off the heads of this two-headed dragon.

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis